The CT Community for Indian Educators

My Grade 3 students in Barmer have no computers. I used desert sand and sticks to teach decomposition today. We broke the task of drawing a complex mandala into: (1) find the centre, (2) draw the first ring, (3) add petals, (4) fill each section. Within 20 minutes they were using the word "decomposition" in Hindi — on their own. No device needed. CT is for everyone. 🙏

Every time I try to teach abstraction, my Grade 7 students insist on adding MORE detail, not less. They think simplification means "doing less work" or "being lazy." Has anyone found a good activity or framing that helps students understand why removing detail is actually powerful thinking?

I used Shakespeare's Hamlet soliloquy to teach abstraction. We stripped each line to its "essential emotion" — removing all poetic elaboration. The final result: a 7-word abstract of a 35-word speech. Then I asked: "What did we lose? What did we keep? Why?" The discussion that followed was the best CT thinking I've seen all year — from a class with no prior CS exposure. My Principal walked past and asked if we were doing a new subject. "No," I said. "Just English." 😄

Made a set of 40 printable cards to teach bubble sort, selection sort, and insertion sort as a physical card-sorting game. Works with any 40 playing cards if you don't want to print. Students sort by number, then by suit, then by both — discovering that different algorithms are faster for different initial conditions. Attaching the PDF below — completely free to use and share.

We were learning about experimental design — controlling variables. Kiran, a Grade 9 student, raised her hand and said: "Sir, this is the same as cooking. When Amma makes rasam, she changes only one ingredient at a time to see what went wrong. She's controlling variables." I could have cried. That's exactly what algorithmic thinking is. These kids have been doing CT their whole lives — they just didn't know it had a name. 🥲